Tentering and drying machine for textile fabrics



June 12, 1928. 1,673,253

' H. KRANTZ- T ENTERING AND DRYING MACHINE F'OR TEXTILE FABRICS '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 29. 1927 June 12, 1928. 1,673,253

' H. 'KRANTZ I TENTERING AND DRYING MACHINE FOR TEXTILE IFILBRIGS Filed Jan. 29. 1927 1a Sheets-Skeet :2

Patented 1......- 12,1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT o Fica.

HUBER! KRANTZ, or Aeolian, GERMANY.

TENTEBING AND DRYING MACHINE FOR TEXTTLE FABRICS.

Application filed January 29, 1927, Serial No. 164,5 63,and in Germany February 3, 1926.

This invention relates to tentering and drying machines of the type in which the fabric is guided in a tentered state. through the drying chamber. In the known machines of this kind there is a certain strain on the fabric in its lon itudinal and transverse direction, wherefbre'these machines are alsocalled stretching, tentering and drying machines. Without regard to the man-.

ner in which the fabric is fed to the conveying'means, for instance'to the usual conveying chains, the strain is mainly caused by the fact that the cloth contracts in its longitudinal and transverse direction in accordance with the progress of the drying, while it is being rigidly held by the'chains. This is a disadvantage for certain fabrics, especiallyfor woolen cloth, because -woolen cloth when dried in a stretched condition is fixedso that a subsequent natural contraction of the fabric in the finished product is rendered impossible. The tension in the transverse direction may be avoided by in troducing the fabric into the machine with a considerable sag in the direction of its width so that an additional strain would not arise during the progress of the drying action. However, conveying the fabric through the drying chamber in such a condition would entail serious drawbacks such.

as the danger of a disengagement of the fabric from the chains, contacting of adjacent fabric layers, impeding the circulation of air, non-uniform drying, et cetera.-

Now, the invention has for its object to provide a tentering and drying'machine of the above-stated. kind in which both the longitudinal andtransverse strains on the veying mechanism nor during the drying process. On the other hand, the breadth of the tenter, i.-- e. the distance between the chainways, is gradually reduced" in accordance with the progress of drying in such a manner? that a tension in the direction of the fabric width is prevented too. v The invention allows of obtaining a dried goods which is free from crumples.

In order to allow of the invention to be more fully understood, it will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example, a tentering and drying machine constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 1 is a fractional plan View, according to the line A-B of Fig. 3,'of the device designed to prevent the longitudinal strain and arranged in vfront of the inlet of the machine. I

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the device along the line CD of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the device. Fig. 4 1s a plan view taken on the line E-rF Of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic longitudinal sec- 2 tion of the machine and Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic transverse section of the same.

1 denotes the fabric which is fed to the machine M over a guide roller 1 in the usual way.- 2 are the endless conveying chains which receive the fabric 1 and guide it through the machine.

Mounted loosely on suitably supported stub shafts 24, Fig. 2, at both sides of the machine are sprocket wheels 10 which are driven by the chains 2. The fabric is seized at its edges by feed rollers 11, 12 and fed 'intothe machlne in the direction of the arrows. The u per feed roller 12 is under the pressure 0 a spring 23. The lower feed roller 11 has rotatlon imparted to it through a gearing 19, 20, 21 and 22 in such a manner that its. circumferentialspeed is by a certain amount greater than the speed of the conveying chains 2. The difference of these speeds may be altered at will by changing the "ratio of the said gearing. The upper feed roller 12 has the same circumferential speed as the lower feed roller 11*and is driven by the latter througha shaft 25, gear wheels 14, '15 and shaft 26. The rotary brush 13 which serves to engage the fabric .1 with the hooks 2 of the chains 2, is'driv'en with the same circumferential speed as the feed rollers 11, 12 from the shaft 26 through the intermediary of the spur wheels 16, 17 and 18, Fig. 1.

After the'fabric emerges from the feed in Fig. 5.

rollers 11',- 12, its longitudinal edges are pi'msed by the brushes 13 into the hooks 2 of the chains 2 which move at alower speed than the brush and'the feed rollers.- This diiference of speeds causes the fabrieto be fastened to the chains without any longitudinal-tension in a slightly undulatory condition as more The fabric is 'asscd in th sunstretched condition throug the whole drying chamber of the 'machine M inthe. mannerv illustrated lower endthe fabric 1- disengages from the conveying chains 2 in a well-known manner.

' F ig- 6 shows the means which serve to decrease the breadthof the tenter, i e. the dis-f tancebetween corresponding chainways 3, in'iaccordance with the progress of the drying ahtion. The chainways 3 are fastened to carrying bars 3. The distance between opposite carrying bars is adaptedto beadjustedby means of threaded spindles tfand 5 which pass through nuts 4* and 5Rwhich are-pivotflly-mounted in the bars 3. The, and 5 are mounted in a suitable spindles manner in the side frames 9 of the machine.

-. lower spindle 5 and the latter adjusted inde-' The upper spindles 4 are adapted to bedriven by belt pulleys 6, whilefthe lower spindles 5 may be rotated from the upper spindles through chain drives 7 As, in the machine illustrated, the moisture-laden fab-Z rics l are introduced into the drying cham-' ber atlthe top and the dry fabrics carried out of same at the bottom, rovision has to -be made for permitting the istance between the chainways to be decreased downwardly in order to reduce the .breadth of the tenter in accordance with the progressive drying. To this end, there is provided a coupling with a hand crank 8 by means of which the chain driver7 may be disengaged from the pendently from the upper spindle 4. In

this way," any desired reduction of the particularly shown in Fig. 3.

After leaving the machine at itsbreadth of the tenter may be easily obtained.

In cases where 'loneltudinal and transverse tension on the fabrics is admissible or desirable, the machine described maybe used in the same manner'as the known machines by returning the chainway-carrying bars 3 to the vertical position and causing the fabric feedingmeanslLlQ, 13 to run with thesame speed as the fabric conveying pairs of feed rollers for feeding the fabricto the conveying chains, rotary brushes for pressing the fabric edges int-o the, hooks of the chains. means for'imparting to the feed rollers and brushes a lead with respect to thechains, pairs of upright bars for carrying the chainways, and means connected with these chainway-carrying bars for plac- I .ing the barsofeach pair at an incline so as to gradually reducethe distance between them in a direction from the top to the bot tom of the machine.

2. A method of drying fabric consisting ;in' feeding the fabric through a drying chamber at a speed less than that at which the fabric is fed to the chamber, maintaining it laterally taut throughout the length of the drying chamber, sufiicient to prevent, wrinkling ofjthe fabric but not the stretching thereoi r l In testimony whereof I have name to this specification.

DR. KRAN-TZ.

signed my I 

